


Survival

by TaraTyler



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 20:01:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5103944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraTyler/pseuds/TaraTyler





	1. Chapter 1

"Team, we've gotten a report of an 0-8-4. Everyone to the conference room immediately." Coulson's voice echoed over the intercom throughout the Bus."

"It's almost like he can sense this somehow." Jemma laughed as she pulled on her shirt and tossed Skye her jeans.

"No kidding, that's like the fifth time this week." she said as she turned to grab her hair brush, revealing a long scar running down the back of her left thigh that Jemma hadn't ever noticed before.

"That scar on your leg... you never told me where it came from." she pointed out.

"Maybe later, this case looks interesting." Skye said, pointing to the picture that had appeared on the SHIELD issued tablet. "Let's go."

Jemma knew that Skye was avoiding the question but, she let it slide anyway. They could talk about it later.

"Yeah, it does."

Skye kissed Jemma's cheek in thanks and led her by the hand to the Holo-table.

"The signals are coming from somewhere in this area." Coulson said as he enlarged a portion of the map to show a neighborhood.

"Wait a second. I know this place." Skye stopped him mid-briefing. She moved the screen down the street shown before stopping at a building that looked like a Roman Catholic Cathedral.

"That's Saint Agnes' the orphanage where I grew up. A lot of my foster homes were in this area." Skye informed them, blowing up the image.

"You don't think another special child was dropped off their do you?" May asked.

"It's definitely a possibility." Coulson affirmed. "Skye, I want you to go there and take a look around. take Jemma in case there's some sort of sciency stuff needed."

"Sciency stuff, really Agent Coulson?" Jemma said in a scolding voice.

"We can check the foster homes in case HYDRA has decided to leave a present for Skye. Split them up amongst ourselves. Teams of two for now and radio immediately if you find something." Tripp suggested. "Skye can pick first."

With a scowl she scrolled down the very long list of places she had used to live, her expression bordering either extreme pain or anger. Jemma pressed against the other girl's side as she laced their fingers together. Once everyone had chosen two or three homes (there were more than enough to go around) they split up to get ready and rest up. Skye collapsed on Jemma's bed and stared at the ceiling.

"I just want to warn you that I chose the worst places for us. I don't want the others to look at me differently." Skye told her.

"I'm sure that none of them would." Jemma protested.

"They already do. Did you see Tripp's face when he saw how long that list was?" Skye asked and Jemma could tell how important it was to her that nobody's perception of her change.

"If they knew what I had been through they would all pity me and I don't want that. We've all had our moments and this was mine. It's in the past and I'd like to leave it that way. Not to drag out any old demons." Skye said using her arms to pillow her head.

"Do this have to do with the scar on your leg that you won't talk about?" Jemma asked, tucked up against Skye. She had found that when she needed to comfort her girlfriend, closeness worked the best.

"Yeah. It does." she murmured, the tightness in her chest threatening to swallow her up.

"It's okay, you can wait until you're ready to tell me."

"Thanks."


	2. 2

At some point Skye and Jemma must have fallen asleep because they woke up in the same position that Jemma last remembered. Her head pillowed on Skye's shoulder and that same arm of Skye's wrapped around Jemma's waist. It was a familiar position for the two of them. Comfort found in the normality.

"Skye, honey. We've landed. It's time to get up." Jemma shook her shoulder gently, only to be wrapped up in Skye's arm and squeezed against her.

"You're the best, you know that?" Skye asked.  
"So I've been told." Jemma responded, as Skye let her up. "Come on, babe. We gotta go."   
"Finnnnne." she complained.  
"I know. It sucks." Jemma patted her back as they changed.  
\------////////--------

St. Agnes' was a beautiful old church, Jemma decided, but she could understand why growing up there would suck. It was a little intimidating.

"Sister Estella?!" Skye called when they came in through the giant double doors to the foyer.

"Mary! It's so nice to see you again! You've certainly grown! The last I'd heard, you were seventeen and had run away from another foster family. How old are you now? Are you okay? Are you hungry?" the nun asked, fussing over Skye as though she were still a child.

"I'm 24, Sister Estella, and I'm working for SHIELD now. We've been getting some strange readings from the area and my partner Jemma and I were sent to investigate. Have you noticed anything? May I check the kids' rooms?" Skye asked, smiling at the sister with the sort of love one reserves for their mother.

"So you're the Jemma I've heard so much about. My Mary must love you a whole lot to talk about you so much." Estella said with a wink.

"Mary, huh? I wasn't even aware that Skye wasn't your name. When we get home, you and I are due for a very long talk." Jemma scolded.

"I hate being called Mary and Sister Estella knows it." Skye said with a petulant scowl that Jemma immediately found adorable.

"Sister Prudence is going to be so excited to see you home." Sister Estella said, leaving Skye behind to show Jemma the children's quarters.

"We should hurry before they get back. Sister Estella already noticed that I'm armed I bet." Skye suggested her face falling.

"I can't believe you used to live here." Jemma said, looking around. "Which room was yours?" she asked.

"Third door on the right." Skye mumbled, lifting up the mattress in the first room and looking underneath it. Jemma looked in and for some reason was immensely disappointed that another child had moved in since Skye had left despite the six year or so difference. She couldn't see anything of Skye in the room. Silently Skye joined her and knelt down next to a plain grey wall with a loose stone that only the children of the orphanage could tell was there. She worked at it with a pocket knife and loosed the stone.  
"Oh, you must be kidding guys." she laughed and pulled out a blunt. She dropped it on the ground and smushed it with the heel of her boot.

"This one was mine. I wanted to grab it for you." Skye said pulling out a flash drive.

"What's MSP?" Jemma asked.

"My initials. Don't ask because I won't answer. I've never forgiven Prudence for naming me that. It's terrible. I'm not Mary the little lost girl. I'm Skye, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. It's customary to take something and to leave something else behind." she explained as she put an envelope into the hole.

"What's that?" Jemma asked as she put the flash drive in her pocket.

"A letter and around three hundred dollars in cash." Skye said blankly.

Jemma's eyes widened in surprise as they checked the last room, but thankfully she didn't say anything. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Skye's cheek.

"You're literally one of the best people that I've ever met. I love you, Skye." Jemma told her.

"I love you too, Jems. Thank you for being so patient." Skye replied, kissing the top of Jemma's forehead.

"Mary!" another nun called and soon they were surrounded by women in habits. Jemma quickly gave up even trying to keep track of their names.

"It was so great seeing all of you. Give my love to Mother Superior and everyone. I'm going to show Jemma the gardens and then we'll go. I'll write again next week. Kiss a baby for me."

"We'll fix you a to-go lunch!" Prudence said and they all bustled away to the kitchens.

"Come on, Jemma. This you need to see." Skye said, and Jemma could see a small sad smile creep up Skye's mouth.

"When I was little I dreamed about bringing my family here. If I ever found one, or made one. This is more than perfect for me." Skye said

Jemma looked at the beautiful flowers and was finally able to picture Skye among them. She could see Skye climbing in the trees and smelling the lilies. She could see Skye hiding behind a rose bush to cry and slowly grow into the woman she saw beside of her today.


	3. 3

"Brace yourself. The next place won't be a fourth so beautiful." Skye warned, her mouth tightening into a grimace.

"Alright." Jemma answered wiping at unshed tears.

"I never thought that I'd have a home. I'm so glad that you guys found me." she whispered as she led Jemma through a gothic hall where they said goodbye to Sisters Estella and Prudence and collected seven or eight packed lunches for them.

"At least they honestly love you." She told Skye.

"Take care of her." Estella whispered to Jemma when the older woman hugged her.

"I'll do my best." Jemma promised. "She's a stubborn one."

"Come on, Jems!" Skye shouted from the giant double doors.

"On my way!"

While Skye drove to their first address Jemma could see her girlfriend's knuckles go white around the steering wheel.

"I was fourteen when I stayed here, so if we're lucky he won't recognize me." Skye told her.

"You don't look like a Mary." Jemma told her in response. "How long were you here for?" she asked.

"Two months. He took pictures of us all and hung them in the hall no matter how long we were there for so he still might know who I am." Skye said and Jemma had to wonder what had happened her to cause Skye to react to seeing it like this. The jaw in the younger girl's jaw was working overtime as though she were chewing on something. Jemma decided to keep a close eye on her. She reassuringly took hold of Skye's hand that she squeezed in response before they climbed the rickety steps. She took a few deep calming breaths befor knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" asked a deep male voice from inside.

"SHIELD! Open up! We've got some questions for you about some recent disturbances in the neighborhood." Skye called.

"Stand behind me. He doesn't trust government agencies, kind of a paranoid." she whispered.

"What do you want with me?" he asked, poking his head out of the door.

"Mr. Walker, are any of your foster children home?" Skye asked.

"Only the baby." he replied.

Skye's voice dropped to a growl, and she still stood defensively in front of Simmons, almost as though her body were a shield of it's own.

"Please let us in, we only want to talk." her voice grated. "Or we will come back with a warrant."

"Fine then." he growled back and they came in. The house was filthy, beer cans on the floor and the sofa stained with who knew what. Empty paper plates littered almost every surface and Jemma could see that the photos Skye had been talking about were frameless and hung with whatever this slob could find at the moment.

"Simmons, would you please get the baby." she said articulately without once looking at her. She crossed her arms across her chest and stepped back, her body language cutting her off from everyone and everything.

"Mary Sue. I can barely believe my eyes. You've gotten even more beautiful." he looked her up and down, even his gaze made her feel violated. He put one meaty, greasy hand on her shoulder and she shrugged him off.

"You lost your right to ever touch me a long time ago, Mr. Walker. The last time I was here, I swore that you would lose the next limb you touched me with. Don't make me keep that promise." she grabbed the wrist and manipulated his arm so that he was forced to the ground with a crash. Skye grabbed the thinning grey hair on top of his head pulled his head back roughly so that he was looking at her upside down from on his knees.

"Skye! Is everything...whoa. What's going on?" Jemma called, rushing into the room, a baby boy in her arms.

"You always did like it rough." Walker laughed, his tongue running over permanently swollen lips.

"Take the baby and go to the car, Jemma." Skye warned and the scientist could have sworn she felt the ground tremble with Skye's voice but dismissed it as her imagination.

"What's happening? Skye?" Jemma asked her own voice trembling.

"Is that your girlfriend, Mary? That night...did I ruin men for you? I still dream about your screams." Walker laughed, his already red face nearly turning purple.

"You want to talk about that night, Walker?!" Skye shouts, her own face contorted with rage. "You pulled a sleeping fourteen year old girl from the top bunk of her bed, tearing her leg open. You covered her face with a pillow to muffle how she screamed and begged for you to 'Stop stop please stop.' I couldn't...couldn't breathe. You undressed me and did...terrible, terrible things to me." Skye was screaming, crying, and laughing all at once. "You didn't ruin men! You ruined me! I died that day."

"Jemma, take the baby to the car." she ordered again, the tremor came again, rocking the scientist on her feet and she knew now that they were in time with Skye's voice.

"Skye, are you doing this?!" Jemma asked, fear lacing her voice as she watched. She wanted to go to the love of her life and comfort her, but she needed to call for backup and get the baby out before the house fell down around them. Somehow, she knew that it was Skye's emotional turmoil that was causing the house to shake.

"I don't know how I'm doing this or how to stop it. Honestly, I'm not sure this is me. Please get out. Call Coulson. Tell him that if I have to be...put down, I want it to be him. Not May, him. Go Jemma, I love you." Skye never looked at her while she spoke and her words were laced with some kind of ancient, terrible power.

Her eyes wide and tears falling, Jemma replied, "I love you, too." covered the baby with her own body and ran out. The only place not trembling in the near vicinity was the car, proving in Jemma's mind that it was Skye causing the earthquake. Jemma sat in the car's passenger seat and rocked the baby until he quieted and she could call Coulson on the comms.

"Sir, we have a big problem, were you aware that Skye has super-powers because I sure wasn't told. We need you here ASAP or she's going to kill this guy and maybe the rest of us. Oooohhh,shhhh, honey it's okay. She's causing the earthquakes. And now the baby is floating. We found the 084." she rattled off the address.

"Is that Skye you're talking to?" Coulson asked in confusion.

"Of course not it's the baby." she said and hung up on him.


	4. 4

The others all arrived within three minutes of Jemma's call to Coulson and gathered on that five by five square feet of steady ground that didn't feel like it was about to collapse in on itself.  
"She's a lot more powerful than I ever expected, May." Coulson said thoughtfully as limbs began to fall from trees.

"Uhm, Jemma why do you have a baby?" Fitz asked.

"Oh, thank you Fitz, here." she said and passed the little boy over to her best friend.

"Skye had me get him out before all of this started." Jemma's heart hadn't stopped aching or worrying for her since she had left the house. Her eyes had held so much pain.

"I think that all of this is related or connected somehow to her emotions. It started when they were arguing." Jemma murmured to herself. With Fitz taking care of the floating, crying infant, she could think much more clearly.

"It got progressively worse as she got angrier and calmed when she spoke to me."

"So we can go in and try to calm her down the same way we would Bruce Banner?" Coulson asked.

"Yes, but we should don protective gear first. I hate to say it but I don't trust her like this." Jemma warned.

"We? You can't possibly intend to..." May protested.

"No one will be able to calm Skye the way Jemma does." Tripp interrupted.

"Alright, we go in cold and let Simmons do the talking. Get right in her field of vision and keep her focus on you. Talk to her like we aren't even there. Take her focus off of Walker, and if you can, get her to let him go. If not, then he deserves to die anyway."

"You know?" Jemma asked, looking horrified.

"It's in her past medical records, I was scoping her out before she deleted all of the files related to her past existence. Our Skye is a special girl." He said.

"Let's go." said May, buckling up her and Jemma's bulletproof vests. "Before she goes too far and kills all of our special selves."  
Jemma jogged up the stairs in case they tried to collapse underneath her and through the doors where Skye had Walker on the ground with a foot on his throat.

"Give me a reason not to kill you." Skye told him and Jemma recognized the undertone of power in her voice, her pistol trained on his head.

"He can't. He deserves it and he knows it." Jemma said honestly, moving into Skye's field of vision as the others trained night-night guns on her from behind.

"Jemma? What are you doing in here? Where's the baby?" Skye asked and the tremors calmed a little.

"He's outside with Fitz. He's really quite adorable. Mr. Walker, does the baby boy have a name?" she asked Skye's captive audience. THe tremors increased with Skye's shifted focus and Walker didn't answer.

"The lady asked you a question."Skye pressed with her foot and the house rocked.

"Sa-Samuel." he rasped and his nose began to bleed.

"Samuel, what a pretty name. Don't you think so, Skye?" Jemma asked nervously. She had never been trained in hostage negotiation.

"Pretty, right what are you trying to do here, Jemma?" Skye growled, her grip readjusting on her gun.

"I'm trying to get you to let him go." she replied simply.


	5. 5

"You said yourself that he deserves to die for what he did to me and all of those other children, what he planned to do with Samuel." Skye protested.

"I did say that and it's true. But, you know what else is true? That you don't deserve all of this Skye." she asked. "You don't deserve this and neither do I. You don't deserve to have his face plague your nightmares as you wrestle with whether or not you did the right thing, when you're supposed to be sleeping peacefully beside of me. I don't deserve to lie beside you as you wrestle with that and have to wonder whether or not I could have stopped you. If that didn't happen immediately, it would eventually. You don't deserve his filthy blood on your hands, or the weight of taking his life on your conscience." Jemma spoke softly and carefully as she crept closer and closer to Skye as the earthquakes calmed underneath their feet.

"There's me, Skye. Do you honestly want me to watch you kill a man? Do you think that I want to see you in this kind of pain? I would never think to pity you for your past. It makes me hurt inside, Skye. Your pain hurts me. Please stop." Jemma begged as the tears escaped Skye's eyes and she collapsed into Jemma's arms. Jemma took her gun and passed it to a pained looking May, and Skye didn't even register it.

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." they murmured to each other over and over again. That is until Skye attempted to stand on her own and she passed out cold.

"Guys, a little help here. She's out." Jemma requested as their footing finally evened out.  
BANG echoed off of the walls behind them as Tripp took Skye into his strong arms.

"COULSON!!!!" May yelled at him as he fired two more rounds into the unconscious, and now dead man's body.

"Simmons was right. He deserved to die, after what he did to her and all of those other children, this isn't the kind of monster that we are supposed to have to fight." he proclaimed after his magazine was empty.

"What exactly happened here?" Tripp asked still holding Skye and looking incredible confused.

"That's Skye's story to tell. Not mine. When she's strong enough you can ask her."

"Stay awake, Simmons you need to be there when she wakes up. We don't know what frame of mind she'll be in."  
"I wouldn't be anywhere else."


	6. Epilogue

Jemma had been awake for the past four hours and she was about to forfeit in her horrible plastic chair.

"Jems...'s at you?" Skye asked groggily.

"Yeah, it's me. How're you feeling?" she asked gently.

"I'm tired, but you're the one who looks exhausted. Come on and climb in." Skye said.

"You're still..."

"Get in, Jems." she repeated, and Jemma didn't have the energy or the will to argue.

Carefully she nestled into Skye. "Much better."  
"Are we going to be okay?" Skye asked.

"Of course. I love you and you love me and I've discovered that I don't need nearly as much as I thought I did to survive."


	7. Bonus

"We're going to put you and Simmons in a safe house until you're not in danger anymore." Coulson told Skye, worry creasing his face.

"Do you think that she'll ever forgive me?" Skye asked from her hospital bed, her own face furrowed in pain. Ever since the 'incident' when Skye had confessed that she had in fact known that there was something different about her the whole time Jemma had been giving her the silent treatment.

"I don't know...but taking a bullet for her was probably a step in the right direction." Coulson joked, though it was plain that he wasn't sure about leaving an injured, untrained, and unstable super agent alone in the hands of her pissed off girlfriend.

"Hey AC, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, I've had worse and as I've recently proven. I'm more than capable of defending myself." She tried to joke back, but her shoulder hurt too much to laugh.

"Oh, I've figured out how to get Jemma in here when I need to see her, watch." She said and with a wince, sat up and swung her legs over the side and attempted to stand. As soon as her feet hit the floor, Jemma was in the room yelling.

"If you want to get yourself killed or shot, or be all noble and sacrifice yourself for someone, that's fine by me! Just don't expect me to stick around and watch. You get your ass back in this bed this instant, or so help me I will cut off your morphine." Jemma fussed and Coulson chuckled at Skye's pleased expression.

"Gosh, you're pretty." was all Skye said in response. Jemma rolled her eyes and blushed before leaving the room.

"Probably not the best way to get her attention." Coulson chuckled.

"If we weren't on an airplane I could cause an earthquake."she offered with a shrug.

"No super-powers until we have you somewhere where you can practice safely." Coulson ordered immediately.

"But I want tooooo." Skye protested like a petulant child.

"No super-powers." he said a bit more firmly this time and checked his watch. "We should be at the landing strip soon. The others and I will be back for you in a bit." he promised. "I'm sending in Simmons to keep an eye on you."

He stepped out and had a word with her before letting her in to see Skye.

"Simmons, I know that you're angry with Skye for not having told you about her...unique history before. You two have a strong bond, but it's nothing like the one that you and Fitz share. You're Fitz's confidant and his best-friend. Skye has never had either of those. She's used to being self-reliant and above all, keeping her secrets to herself. When I told her to not tell anyone about who and what she is, her mind didn't immediately include an 'except for Fitz' clause the way you would. She values her position here, with you, so much that she was willing to lose you to stay near you. We're the only family that she has ever known and she's willing to die to keep it and you. She has no idea who she is or what it is that she is becoming and she's scared. She's scared of herself and she's scared of losing you. I bet that there are other things that she wishes that she could tell you as well, if you can get her to open up to you. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

Jemma moved to the one way window and looked in at Skye. Even having just been shot she looked jumpy and ready for action. Just like for the first few days of observation she would make a fist and then stare at her hands. With the help of Coulson's advice she was finally able to place the expression... Horror. Skye was terrified of herself and what she might be capable of.

"How do I help?" Jemma asked, but when she turned around Coulson wasn't there. WIth a sigh she slid into the med-pod.

"Need more blood?" Skye asked, sticking out her arm to Jemma.

"No, I just wanted to come in and see how you were doing." Jemma said.

"I don't know. You're my doctor." Skye said, her gaze heavy on Jemma.

"I didn't mean physically, Skye." she corrected.

"I didn't know you cared. The only person I have to talk to is Coulson and all he knows is... well he doesn't know much." Skye's face creased in pain.

"You shouldn't be hurting that much anymore." Jemma said worriedly.

"It's not the gunshot. It's my head." Skye replied. "I've been having them all day."

"Of course I care Skye. I was just rather pissed off. You can always talk to me. I love you. What all did Coulson know?" Jemma asked, sitting next to Skye on the bed.

"Closer." Skye ordered before she was going to talk. Jemma scooted a little bit closer to the younger girl.

"Closer." Skye said again and Jemma curled up next to her the same way they always did to sleep.

"I was an 084. I was found in a little village in China. By the time they got to me everyone else there was dead. I was just a baby. I have trouble wrapping my mind around the idea that as an infant i was powerful enough to kill all of those people, even the agents who had come to collect me. Another team was sent in and they found me in the arms of a dead SHIELD agent. Both of those agents are dead now as well, I think, after dropping me off at the the orphanage. The earthquake...I had no idea that I was capable of that. I'm sorry." Skye said, her voice full of emotion.

"You think I'm angry because you have powers?" Jemma asked in surprise, pushing herself up and on to her elbow.

"You're not?" Skye asked, looking equally surprised.

"Hell, no, I'm angry because:A.) You threw you stupid self in front of a bullet for me as though I were some romantic damsel in distress.B.) I'm angry because you didn't think that you could talk to me. I'm not in this just because you're so attractive and the sex is nice. I'm in for you, for everything you are, you stand for, and that includes your baggage. I love you, Skye." Jemma fussed before lying back down again, mumbling to herself about idiotic, super-powered girlfriends with no brains in their gorgeous heads.

"We're here, Jemma can you get her into her wheelchair on your own?" Fitz asked. He had been one of Skye's most faithful visitors.

"I've got her. How is everyone out there?" Jemma asked, disentangling herself from Skye.

"It's pretty good. Tripp's depressed because he can't workout. It's getting hard to keep him entertained." Fitz replied, a grin creeping up his face.'"Hey, do you think any less of Skye now that she has super powers?" she asked as an afterthought as she acted as her girlfriend's crutch.

"No, that's ridiculous, why would I?" he asked, looking quite insulted.

"I told you that you're an idiot." Jemma said. "Tell Skye she's an idiot, Fitz."

"You're an idiot, Skye. We still love you. No one thought less of me while I was a stuttering, hallucinating, mess. We've all been terribly worried."

"Thanks, Fitzy. I love you too." she told him just to see him blush.

"Don't tease the poor boy, darling. His face will explode." Jemma scolded, as she lowered a wincing Skye into the chair.

"But it's so much fun." she grinned.

They were blindfolded after they had said their goodbyes and taken into the safehouse.

"Here you are ladies. The house is fully stocked with everything you'll need for up to three years, but we doubt that you'll be here that long. We're going to miss you both very much." Coulson said.

"We've even got wi-fi!" Skye piped up from her chair, her laptop balanced across her lap.

"Of course, you're Skye, we couldn't put you somewhere without it. You'd drive poor Jemma here mad." Coulson chucked as May attempted to remain surly and ambivalent. Coulson hugged Simmons and told her to keep an eye on Skye. Skye stood on her own and hugged Coulson with her good arm. He pressed a kiss into her hair and told her to be good.

"Take care of yourself and Simmons. I'd hate to lose my best student." May said and they shook hands, before they left.

"I guess we're on our own, huh?" Skye asked.

"Nope, nuh-uh, not until you are at least 75% better." Jemma said with an immediate bright blush.

"Agh!" Skye yelled, her head filling with a pressure that she didn't know what to do with.

"Skye! What's wrong? Is it your head or your shoulder?" Jemma asked, worry filling her voice.

"Get outside. Now! Stay where nothing can fall on you." she said as she got out of the chair and pressed the palms of her hands into the ground. "If I don't quake, I'm going to die. Go. Now. It's okay. Everything is going to be okay. Just go." she said with more force in her voice.

"If you die, I'll kill you." Jemma threatened before running outside.

Skye released whatever mental block was holding back her power and just let go. Everywhere except for where she was standing rocked and rolled. The ground bucking and the house rattling, she kept it up until her headache was gone. As soon as it was over, she ran out to Jemma, worried that she might have gotten hurt.

"Jemma, are you alright?" Skye asked, her heart pounding.

"I'm fine, how are you?" Jemma asked.

"Better than ever. That felt nice." Skye said with a sigh.

"Mmmm. I guess that we've found your first side-effect from having super-powers." Jemma said when Skye pulled her close and tight against her.

"You're not supposed to be up and walking around, much less causing earthquakes." she said as Skye squeezed the air out of her.

"Skye darling, I can't breathe." she protested. When Skye held her out at arm's length to check her over at arm's length.

"Sorry.""No need to be sorry, darling. As long as you're alright." Jemma corrected her, and stepped back against Skye, their bodies pressed together. She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to Skye's gently until she felt the panic holding her captive dissipate.

"You're okay, Skye. We're both alright." Jemma murmured to her.

"MMmmmhhhh..." she murmured and kissed Jemma again. "My shoulder doesn't even hurt anymore." Skye said.

"Let me look at it inside." Jemma said walking back to the house.

"Seriously almost like it's..."

"Gone." finished Jemma, as Skye pulled off her shirt. There was no scar or even a scratch to evidence that there had ever been wounded.chapter 4

"I can't believe it." Jemma whispered, her fingers tracing over the wound, or lack thereof.

"Believe it." Skye responded, equally softly. She grinned when she noticed her girlfriend's eyes wandering.

"Are you enjoying what you're seeing?" Skye asked.

"Immensely." she said honestly.

"Doesn't this seem rather unfair to you? I mean, I'm just standing here half-naked and you're ogling me and you're completely covered." Skye complained, teasing the hem of Jemma's sweater, alternating between stroking the soft skin of her abdomen and hitching her sweater up farther until Jemma lost her own patience and pulled it off herself.

"Well if someone isn't feisty hmm?" Skye asked, giving Jemma one of her looks that she knew drove the scientist insane.

"Shut up!" said Jemma before grabbing ahold of Skye's hips and dragging her closer and kissing her much less softly. SKye moaned into the kiss and bent and lifted Jemma up. Automatically, Jemma's legs wrapped around her waist and her fingers twisted into Skye's hair as their kisses went from heated to desperate.

\---/////---

"Hey, Jems?" Skye whispered a few hours later.

"Yeah?" she responded contentedly as she curled around Skye and laced their fingers together.

"I think I'm ready to tell you my story now, but don't interrupt me or I won't be able to keep going." Skye murmured.

"Okay, no judgement. Pinky swear." Jemma promised in that childish way she got when she was sleepy.

"Those two agents dropped me off at the St. Agnes orphanage. The nuns were kind and lenient and quite a number of them honestly cared about us, but every time they got the opportunity they would ship us off to the first available foster home, no matter the rating or the reports out on them because they gave them the benefit of the doubt." Skye began and Jemma was already horrified.

"Horrible things happened to us. I was molested, raped twice and beaten more times than I can count. Whenever we told the nuns of what had happened to us, they said to 'pray for them' and that 'God had a plan'. But secretly the older boys and the tougher girls would find the suckers and beat the living shit out of them. I joined when I was fourteen and barely made it through high school. As soon as I was eighteen I moved out to live with my boyfriend Miles, and we saved up and moved to China for a bit, following up on a lead we had been searching for. We didn't have any money at all and we didn't know the language so I hacked stuff and stole money and food for us while Miles looked for work. As a joke one day he signed me up for this competition to film a music video. The prize was a shitload of money so I actually took it seriously..." Skye trailed off at the incredulous look on Jemma's face.

"You won didn't you?" She asked, and Skye's face went red in response.

"Oh my God, this I have got to see." Jemma said with a giggle, forgetting how naked she was, jumping up, running into the living room, and grabbing the laptop before settling back in next to Skye.

"Can we not? It's embarrassing." She protested.

"Full disclosure." Jemma pronounced.

"Uh-oh by Chloe Wang." Skye told her.

"Chloe Wang?" Jemma asked.

"Just pull it up and get it over with." Jemma pulled up the video and watched silently, though around the chorus she started to grin like the Cheshire Cat.

"You never told me that you could sing." Jemma complained.

"You never asked." Skye teased as she pulled up the follow up single 'Everyday In Between.'

"Imagine the teams reactions if they saw that. I would never live it down. They already look at me like I'm going to grow a third eye in the middle of my forehead." She complained.

"You scared the shit out of us, Skye. They're worried. You understandably went batshit crazy on that guy. Then the tunnels..."

"I never wanted anything more than to be a normal girl with a mom and a dad. Now look at me."

"You're amazing." Said Jemma. "You've been through hell and back. You didn't get bitter or cynical and you honestly care about people. You've spent the majority of your existence searching for your parents and when you found your father and he was...what he is, you didn't break down or let it change you. Now, you're just a little bit more special than the rest of us and you've got a family, even if it isn't the one you were looking for." Jemma told her. Skye didn't respond, she just kissed the top of Jemma's head and hit play on the stupid song. Every now and then a warm tear would hit Jemma's shoulder and she would edge closer to Skye.

"I love you, Jems."she murmured at the end of the song.

"I love you too, Skye, no matter how many horrible songs you put out in China."

"Didn't know you were dating a spoiled rich girl, did you?" Skye asked teasingly.

"Rich?" Jemma asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I still get royalties from both songs when they're bought online. It all goes into an account I haven't touched since joining SHIELD." She replied as if it were obvious.

"You were living out of your van." "By choice. Didn't you see all of the fancy tech I had in there?" "I assumed the Rising Tide bought it for you.""No, no, no, I funded the Rising Tide. Anyway, we ended up finding out that I am indeed half-Chinese, but were unable to uncover any record of my actual birth. As you probably know, families in China are encouraged to only have one child due to overpopulation and when their child isn't a boy, some families get rid of their little girls. That's what the Chinese government suggested might have happened to me when we talked to them. It's what I believed until I hacked SHIELD and saw redacted files with my name from the orphanage on them."

"Is this the part where you meet us?" Jemma interrupted, knowing that Skye had been recruited for something similar and Skye didn't look on the verge of tears anymore. She stood up and started to put on p.j.'s and slid back in.

"No, but we are getting close. I had found out through one of the nuns when I was younger that I had been dropped at the orphanage by two SHIELD agents with strict orders to report to them as soon as I showed signs of abnormalities. As a precaution they had left their names and numbers. I tried them both and they were disconnected and I was left only with their names. That's why I hacked SHIELD the first time."

"You hacked SHIELD twice and they left you alone?" Jemma asked. She was lying on her side, watching Skye tell the story and running her small hands through the younger girl's long brown hair. Skye looked at the ceiling as she told her story as though she could see it taking place in the air.

"The second time I had something they wanted in Mike Peterson. I had seen his video through the Rising Tide, tracked him down with my mad skills, and stolen his driver's license. They recruited me then, and I met you." She finished rolling onto her own side and facing Jemma. She reached out to cup Jemma's cheek but was forced to stop by another crippling headache.

"What's wrong?" Jemma asked.

"My head hurts again. I thought the earthquake would fix it." She answered, cradling her head in her hands and pulling her knees up to her chest.

"I'm not qualified for this we need an expert." Jemma said.

"It's okay." Skye choked out as lights flashed behind her eyes.

"Skye...I haven't said anything." Jemma spoke for the first time since asking what was wrong.

"I want you to take deep breaths in and out and try to focus on the sound of my voice while I call Coulson." Her voice trembled more than her thoughts had.

"It'd be easier if you would stop thinking so loudly about how scared you are." Skye muttered as she practiced her breathing and watched Jemma come back. Jemma dialed and climbed into the bed, sitting up against the headboard and letting Skye lay her head in her lap while she stroked her hair soothingly off of her forehead.

"Director, this is Simmons. Skye's very sick. She's having horrid debilitating migraines that don't go away for very long periods of time and now she's hearing my thoughts. I'm doing all I can but the tremors make it very hard to move around." Skye looked up at Jemma's face and wished that she could do anything to ease her fear as she adjusted positions. Skye could see how uncomfortable Jemma was in her mind with the way Skye was lying on her.

"Better?" She whispered, trying to adjust the sheet while Jemma discussed protocol with Coulson.

"I know there's only a few qualified doctors..." Jemma was cut off as Skye caught a glimpse of some of her below the surface thoughts.

"My boobs? Even now Jemma, your fascination with those..." Skye grumbled a wry grin poking through despite the pain.

"Oh, hush. Coulson, she can 'hear' my every thought, what'd you think...She knows everything you're saying as soon as it enters my mind. Yes, dear?" she asked, her attention turning to her mussed girlfriend, when she poked her stomach.

"Not just you, the whole damn town..."she moaned. "Every thought, every emotion, and feeling. Bathroom! Now!" she insisted, despite knowing that she couldn't touch the floor without another earth-shattering earthquake rocking the town...well, worse than it already was. Jemma grabbed a bedpan and stuck it within Skye's reach.

"Did you catch that, sir? Good, yes, please hurry, thank you sir." Jemma hung up the phone and turned to Skye looking rather pale. And even though she already knew that Skye knew. "Good Lord, love. He's called in a favor with the Hulk for you."

"I didn't even realize the house was shaking." was Skye's completely unrelated and random response. "But even the people down in the town can feel that something's off."

An hour later Skye had told Jemma of all of the nearest town's drama.

"The jet's come within my range. want to hear Bruce Banner's innermost thoughts?" Skye asked with a pained snort.

"No honey, that would ruin the magic." Jemma replied, her heart beating hard as she helped Skye into clothes.

"IIt most certainly would. I'm doing my best, here Jemma. I don't mean to scare you like this. Though I certainly feel much less insecure now. I hate invading everyone's privacy like this and I'm desperately trying not to cry. why does everyone have to be in so much pain all of the time? I don't understand. I'm not seeing the balance. There is absolutely no magic present here, unless you mean me, and we have no idea what I am." Skye's face creased and she grabbed onto Jemma for support.

"How's the pain? One to ten." she asked, trying hard to block her fear from Skye now.

"It's okay, not quite as bad now. And as for the other thing, eight."

It took a moment for Jemma to realize that Skye meant that Jemma's fear wasn't bothering her as much as it had been and that the physical pain was still killing her, maybe literally.

"They've landed." Skye informed her suddenly. "It's okay to fangirl. I can look in your head, I won't get jealous. Some of those memories with Fitz though, they might have made me a little green...or greener. I look like I'm going to throw up...again. Oh, they're here, any other color." SKye tried to joke.Not funny.Can't blame a girl for trying. Honestly, I just wanted to see you smile. Observation numero uno, lying telepathically is impossible. I was going to say get in your pants, but the brain meld thingy wouldn't let me.

"Dr. Simmons? Agent Skye? It's Dr. Banner. Director Coulson, who isn't dead, sent me. I'm going to need to have a word with that man."

"We're in here Dr. Banner." Jemma called, swiping at Skye's sweaty brow with a cloth as though to make her presentable.

"Pissed off much?" Skye asked.

"Always. Judging from the instability of my footing, I'm assuming you feel the same?" he asked.

"You give off more psychic waves than anyone else, doc. Is that because of the gamma radiation or your tortured past?" instead of looking to Banner for answers, she turned to Jemma.

"It could be either...or both for that matter." Jemma answers, her heart glowing with pride that Skye still looks to her for answers even though Bruce Banner himself is in the room.

"This is Dr. Jemma Simmons, my girlfriend, and an all around expert on everything Skye-slash-Mary-slash-Daisy-slash-Quake. Also, she's a genius with more Ph Ds than you so don't you dare underestimate her. Or try her, for that matter." Skye warned him.

I can hear you thinking that she's attractive. One word: mine

"Quake?" Jemma asked, accurately guessing that Skye had been staking her claim, even though she possessed no mind reading powers. She just knew Skye, really, really, well.

"That's Skye's code name, or heroine name, whichever you prefer." Banner filled her in.

"Oh, that's cool." Jemma lied.

They totally could have done better. Jemma thought in Skye's direction.

Coulson and Fitz came up with it. Skye replied and mid-thought the pain was back in full force. Skye held her head in her hands and tears streamed down her face. Jemma read the need for the bed-pan in her expression before she could speak.

"Tell me everything that's happened since you got here. Get everything off of the Quinjet and get out of here as quickly as possible. You're overloading her!" Banner yelled before turning his attention to Skye.

"Simmons, if you don't mind." He asked. Jemma started working and talking at the same time. She and Banner were a good team, not as perfectly suited for one another as she and Fitz were but good enough to only need short and concise sentences to get points across and stay out of one another's way.

"There's no physical reason for the pain so I'm going to have to assume that it's her body and psyche adjusting to the addition of her powers. Without her father here to explain what is exactly is happening , I'm going to treat her the same way I was treated as I adjusted to becoming the other guy." Banner decided.

"How was that?" Jemma asked, curiosity and worry coursing through her in equal amounts.

"I was left alone with only the necessities and medication for the pain until I was strong enough for us to test me. It took a long time and lot of effort. For now I say that we just let her sleep. She's going to need it." he looks over at Skye and smiles.

"She's strong, I can see why Coulson is so fond of her. He wouldn't have called me in otherwise." He added. "What's she looking for?" Skye reached out in her sleep.

"Me, sir. Neither of us like to sleep alone. Even before we were together, we usually ended up in the same bed." Jemma said with a blush.

"Get in with her and we can keep talking. You said that she was able to 'hear' everyone in the nearest town? Did you catch the name of the town?" He asked as Jemma pulled up a pillow against the headboard and sat up, adjusting Skye so that Skye was settled against her. Banner and Jemma talked and hypothesized until late at night and he retired to his own room.

Chapter 7

"Jemma, are you awake? Jemma?" Skye whispered to the sleeping girl beside of her.

Jemma? She thought into Jemma's mind.

Skye...voice...girlfriend...very pretty...Chinese popstar... Was the scattered response she received back.

"Good morning, Quake." Banner said from the doorway. ""Let Dr.Simmons sleep. She stayed up late and worked with me on some theories. She's probably exhausted. She cares a lot about you."

"I know, thank you, Dr. Banner. You're her hero, you know." Skye told him, kissing the top of Jemma's head and stroking her hair.

"I figured that out without being a mind reader. Do you feel well enough to train today?" He asked. "Tell me telepathically, so that you can't lie."

I'm physically ready, but I can't get comfortable with letting you get into my head. I'm not sure that I would be cool with letting anyone into my mind. Maybe not even with Jemma. She thought to him.

That's completely understandable, however, for now, until you are able to trust either Dr. Simmons or myself completely, you'll be going through our minds. He responded. Get dressed and ready and meet me in the living room. And with that he left to get ready himself.

\---//////---

When Jemma woke up she could still feel the shadow of Skye's mind in her own, though it was now much less intrusive. Once she was ready she left the the room to find Skye and Banner sitting across from one another, cross-legged, with closed eyes and connected hands. She was only a little disappointed that they hadn't waited for her. She could feel that it was early afternoon and there was no evidence that either of them had eaten so she set to work making lunch. Skye was notorious for skipping breakfast.

"Sorry, Bruce, I'm too tired to..." Skye said an hour later, dropping his hands and gasping for breath.

"No, it's alright Quake, there haven't been anymore quakes or tremors and you're getting better at searching for pertinent material. You're doing a lot better than I thought you would by now." He said out loud, her mind too exhausted for speaking telepathically.

"Jemma." She breathed, sensing the other girl's mind in the room, and nearly toppled over rushing to get to her. She immediately hugged her girlfriend tightly, surprising Jemma and nearly making her drop the spaghetti.

"Yeah, I'm Jemma, what's with all the love, love?" She asked, setting the bowl on the table and returning the hug.

"Missed you. Tired. Emotions running high. Missed you. Spent too much time in that guy's head for one day." She says before kissing Jemma full on on the mouth even with the other doctor in the room, only to be interrupted by her growling stomach.

"I love you too Skye, but you clearly need to eat. Both of you." She ordered.

"I didn't even realize I was all that hungry until just now." Skye said.

"I'm starting to think that my memories are too impersonal and intense for proper training. Dr.Simmons, would you be willing to allow Skye to practice on you?" Banner asked as he sat down at the table with the two younger women.

"Anything she needs. You know that." She answered immediately.

"This will be extremely personal and extremely invasive. She managed to pull up thoughts that I have repressed for years. He warned her.

"I've nothing to hide." She said with a shrug.ad led the stereotypical life of a young genius. She'd been sheltered and spoiled, and joined SHIELD at seventeen years old with two Ph Ds and a lot of questions. She didn't even have anything to hide from her time tucked away within HYDRA.

"Are we going to practice with the earthquakes at all?" Skye asked.

"Not until you learn to control this part of your abilities." He said in the same way Jemma did when Skye had been begging her for something. "Simmons, I must say that you are a fantastic cook." He added and Jemma saw that the other two were already going for seconds when she was barely halfway done with her first bowl.

"Thank you, Dr.Banner." She responded with a blush.

Skye saw and sent Jemma single thought.

Mine.

Possessive cave woman. Jemma responded with a roll of her eyes.

But you love me anyway.

Always.

Skye winked at her, making her blush even harder.

Banner noticed that they were communicating and warned her. "Don't overdo it, Quake. You have certain boundaries and you are going to have to adjust to them." He said and Jemma scowled, she really hated the nickname.

"If you two want more there's some in the pot on the stove." She said.

"I'm good, thanks." Banner said and Skye began to put away the dishes. Jemma couldn't help but notice that her girlfriend was covered in a light layer of sweat.

"Do you need a break before we start back, love?" Jemma asked, reading Skye's facial expressions as easily as the younger girl could read her mind.

"No, I can keep going, we can just take our time getting adjusted to sharing the space." Skye said with a slight scowl. She had always been a very personal person and hated having all of her memories out there for someone else to see.

"I don't want the two of you to do this the same way that we did seeing as how you are more comfortable with Dr.Simmons than you are me." Banner said when he saw Skye about to settle into the floor.

"Skye if you would sit on the couch with your legs spread and allow Dr. Simmons to sit in your lap, with your arms wrapped around her waist, keeping her as close as possible." He added.

"Erm, okay?" Skye asked confusedly.

She sat down and patted the couch in front of her with a smile. Jemma smiled back because she could tell that Skye was just as nervous as she was, but was still trying to make her feel as comfortable as possible.

"Simmons and I thought that maybe skin on skin contact might have some kind of strengthening effect between the minds and allow for a deeper telepathic experience. Skye and I noticed a difference when our hands touched." He finished and left them to their work with a good luck. Skye caught the passing thought that he was going to take a nap.

"You ready?" She asked.

"Can you describe what it feels like for me?" Jemma asked.

"It's like a maze inside of your head. All of the deeper, darker, and more repressed memories are farther in and require more effort to reach. That's what Banner and I were working on, getting as far in as possible with minimal contact. The more I touch, the more I reach. You will be able to feel my reactions to your memories. When I got angry or felt betrayed on his behalf, he could feel it. Oh, we also discovered that I could send images and feelings. Watch."

Skye closed her eyes and locked her arms comfortably around Jemma's waist. She thought about brushing her fingers across Jemma's cheek, the way Jem's skin felt under her skin, and the live she wanted to imbue into the action before pushing the thought to the older girl.

"Hmm. That's a neat trick." Jemma sighed, her voice breathy.

"Are you ready now?" Skye asked, telepathically stroking Jemma's hair.

"As I'll ever be." She said, still nervously.

"It'll all be alright. I would never hurt you, you know that." She reassured her as she began to meld their minds. Immediately, she could feel everything from Jemma's point of view as well. She could feel her arms as they felt to Jemma around her waist as though she were Jemma, and her breath on Jemma's neck.

Are you okay? Skye asked.

It's actually kind of nice. Like I'm you and myself at the same time. Jemma's thought voice was excited.

Really? It only went the one way with Banner. You can feel me? Skye asked in confusion.

Yeah, and you really should have asked to take a nap before we started. She scolded.

Do you want to try the digging? Skye asked, equally nervous.

Jemma already felt rather overwhelmed at all of the sensations she was picking up from Skye, the mind meld, and her emotions. She hadn't realized just how much Skye could feel all at once. Where Jemma's world was in black and white, Skye's was filled with shades of grey. She resettled against Skye and said yeah.

She started out with a gentle probe, watching the past few days fly by. She felt Jemma's distress and fear during the time Skye was in the temple and her relief when Skye turned out to be okay, the anger at Fitz and Skye hiding that the younger girl was an 0-8-4. The guilt nearly crushed her, and therefore nearly crushed Jemma as well.

It's okay, I forgave you both. Keep going. Jemma's warm voice thought to her.

Her confidence restored Skye's, and the telepath dug farther back. Passing through Jemma's experience while she had been in containment, her attempts to repair their relationship, and Jemma's attempts with Fitz, and how Skye and Jemma's relationship began. Jemma's elation at finding out that her feelings for Skye were returned would have knocked Skye over if she hadn't already been seated.

Love you, Jems.

Love you more, Skye.

Impossible.

Skye dug back past Jemma's time at HYDRA to Providence, curious to know how Ward's betrayal had effected Jemma. She was immediately struck by an extreme torrent of fury. It even managed to scare Skye a little, sending a wave of fury down her spine on Simmons' behalf. The older girl shivered in her arms.

"If I ever see you again, I will kill you." Jemma had told Ward, stepping defensively in front of Skye as they took him away. As soon as he was gone, she turned back to Skye.

"You say that like I can't take care of myself." The younger joked.

"You two had a thing, and he tried to use that against you. He manipulated your feelings for him. It's sick and wrong." Jemma was still boiling with anger, and from her new point of view, Skye now knew, jealousy.

"That was acting, Jemma." Past Skye reassured her and present Skye could feel past Jemma's heart skip a beat at past Skye's first use of her first name.

"I had a feeling that something was about to happen with him, so I started to manipulate him. He's got some sort of sick crush slash obsession with me." Past Skye continued and present Skye felt a tidal wave of relief come off of past Jemma, coupled with both past and present Jemmas' embarrassment.

"You knew he was kidnapping you and you went along with it??" Past Jemma asked in astonishment, somehow, she knew that there was no way Skye could ever be HYDRA. "Weren't you scared?" Past Jemma asked.

"Honestly, I was terrified and pretty sure that I was going to die. I'm just glad that Fitz got my message. I seem to be getting myself into more and more trouble lately. How've you been, Jems?" Past Skye had led them to the Bus where their living quarters were and right into Skye's pod. Closing the door, she tugged her shirt off and pulled on one of the tank tops she reserved for training.

Geez, girl, even then you couldn't keep it in your pants. Present Skye thought to Jemma.

Oh hush, you say that like you're any better. Present Jemma thought back and Skye felt rather than saw her grin.

"You have one of the most perfectly defined backs I have ever seen." Past Jemma accidentally spouted.

"Is that what you're going with?" Past Skye asked with a quirk of her eyebrow, while bending to take off her jeans.

"That's my story and I'm sticking to it." Past Jemma accidentally basically confessed to checking past Skye out as she observed past Skye undressing, completely red faced.

"Babe, it's okay. I catch myself staring at you sometimes, too. It's no biggie." Past Skye replied.

"The others probably didn't tell you but when you were taken I kind of freaked out and tried to steal the jet to go save you at the first of it. I was more than a little bit of a mess and that was probably when I realized that what I felt for you was probably more than platonic. I wasn't going to go HYDRA but I refused to believe that you actually were." Past Skye told past Jemma as she edged forward and grabbed the smaller girl's forearms in her hands gently and dragged her carefully closer. Present Skye and present Jemma backed out of the memory before porn happened. They both knew what came next.

And I had just gotten dressed too. Present Skye complained with a grin.

You certainly didn't mind at the time, love. Present Jemma teased with a mental smirk. Without warning, Skye suddenly back tracked out of Jemma's mind and the older girl's head was left spinning. Skye took advantage of the time Jemma was using to recuperate to kiss her neck and nuzzle the soft skin, eliciting a low groan from the tiny scientist she had the fortune to be with.

"That's not fair, love." Jemma complained aloud.

"All's fair in love and war, or something like that." Skye said dismissively, her voice lowering to a husk in a way that always seemed to get Jemma going. Skye's hand was already underneath her shirt and her fingers were u doing her bra. Jemma raised up and off of Skye enough for her to shed the two articles of clothing.

"Jemma..." Skye whispered and the doctor could have sworn she heard an echo of the sound in her mind as she turned around and faced Skye, on her knees, straddling the new heroine's waist.

"Skye..." She responded as she slowly unbuttoned Skye's shirt.

She could see and feel Skye's breath hitc fingers brushed olive tanned skin. She could feel Skye's mind enter her own as she began to gently rock her hips on Skye's and for the first time they experienced the situation as one. Jemma could feel how it was for Skye and herself, and she began to quickly become confused as to who was whom. Someone moaned and she heard the sound leave her own throat but also heard it from the other direction. One or the other's hands were working magic on the others center and the sounds were both vocal and telepathic. They came at the same time, as one and the feeling faded softly as Jemma's body sank against Skye's as Skye backed her mind from the other's and the memories autocorrected.

"We should probably go to bed and write up our findings for in the morning." Jemma suggested.

"Jem, it's 10:30. Past your bedtime." Skye said.

"We'd only been at this for like an hour before we got distracted." Jemma protested.

"It's dark out, honey. We were in your head for nearly five hours. You should be exhausted. I know that I am." Skye said and gave Jemma a wry grin, she stood up and pulled on a tee shirt. She grabbed Jemma's wrists and stood her up, before carrying her bridal style to the bed.

\---/////---

Jemma was up at 5:30 the next morning like usual, which was sad for Skye who preferred to sleep until noon.

"Come on, darling. Dr. Banner said that he thinks you're ready to work with the earthquakes now. You've been looking forward to this for a while."

"Five more minutes!" Skye complained.

"If you don't get up now your pancakes will get cold." Jemma warned her before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

Pancakes? Skye mentally asked.

Yes, I made pancakes and cleaned up our mess in the living room before Dr. Banner woke up. Jemma replied.

"Now get up." She said aloud.

Skye crawled out from under the covers and massaged her temples, pulling on a clean t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

One to ten? Jemma thought in Skye's direction, knowing that Skye could probably hear everything she thought.

Every word everyone thinks in a ten mile radius, you mean. And if you really enjoy watching me get dressed that much I'll be sure to slow down the process next time. Skye laughed mentally.

One to ten, Skye. Jemma insisted

Five. was her response.

Jemma left to go get Skye something for the pain while she got ready for her day and heard a crashing noise followed by the telltale rumbling of the ground underneath their feet. Bruce Banner burst out of his room, shirtless and fell in behind Jemma, running into the room to find Skye sitting on her bed holding a brick next to a shattered window with a brick with a piece of paper attached to it.

"What is it, Skye?" Jemma asked. "Are you okay?"

It's a threat and I am going to end whoever this might have been for it. Skye thought to both Banner and Jemma so that they would know she was completely serious.

Upon closer inspection Jemma saw that there was a picture attached to the brick with a rubber band. It was one of her, taken through the safe house's window.

"Skye, I'm going to be just fine. I'm in a SHIELD bunker with a legitimate Avenger and a new heroine who's a trained field agent. Even I managed to infiltrate HYDRA on my own without getting killed. I'm probably the safest person on Earth." Jemma reassured her.

You're not leaving my sight until this threat is neutralized. Skye warned her. Jemma feared for anyone who dared to cross her while her badass super heroine girlfriend was in the room. That thought at least got a smile out of Skye.

"There's my girl." Jemma said in that very British way of hers as the ground tremors ceased.

"I still want you with me." Skye growled.

"I'm going to call this into Coulson. There is no scenario where this is a good thing. Then I want to put Simmons and you outside to train under my supervision and maybe draw out the bad guys." Banner suggested.

"Are you saying that you want me to let you use Jemma as bait?" Skye asked dangerously.

I swear that nothing will harm her so long as I can help it. Banner promised her mentally.

"I designed this with the help of Dr. Simmons. It should help to curb your appetite for earthquakes, control your telepathy, and stop the headaches. We aren't sure if it'll work yet, but under the circumstances...it can't hurt." Banner offered her a black bracelet made out of a leather-like substance.

"The cool part is on the inside." Jemma suggested, and Skye uncurled the device. On the inside it was coated with a shimmery kind of tech thing that Skye knew she would never understand.

"It has all of the same functions as the bracelet May gave you so you won't have to wear both." Jemma explained as Skye clamped it on and immediately sighed with relief. However she put it on her right wrist and swapped May's to her left, ever the sentimentalist.

"One to ten?" Jemma asked anxiously.

"Not a thing. I feel great." She replied.

"Good. I'll just go make that call." Banner said, but neither girl g to him.

"Are you okay with this plan?" Skye asked Jemma hesitantly.

"Definitely. I know that you won't let anything happen to me, Skye. I trust you explicitly." Jemma replied, holding onto the hand that Skye had put the bracelet Jemma had made for her on.

"So, this is what you and the good doctor have been staying up at all hours of the night working on." Skye said with a grin.

"Yeah, it was a bit more of a challenge than I expected. Dr. Banner is brilliant, but he is no Fitz." Simmons said with a sigh.

"I know. I'm ready to go home too." Skye said back to the unspoken statement and flopping back onto the bed.

"You're not supposed to be able to hear my thoughts without trying anymore."Jemma fussed, reaching for the bracelet. Skye jerked her hand back.

"That's not stopping me from reading your facial expressions." she said with a laugh. "Now lets go get my pancakes while Uncle Bruce talks to Dad."

\---/////---

Skye felt a lot better knowing that the rest of the tam was hiking from the nearest village to join them as she sat in a chair in the middle of meadow staring blankly at a hula-hoop.

"Come on, Skye. Not even a little jiggle?" Jemma asked, now that they had been at it for an hour.

"Don't use that word while you are sitting in my lap, babe." Skye scolded and Jemma went red. After recent experiments, and a couple of near tragic accidents, it was discovered that the only safe place to stand during one of Skye's quakes was within a hula hoop's distance of her. Bruce was stuck watching over them from cover.

I wish that the bad guys would hurry the heck up. I'm getting bored. Skye thought to Jemma.

Focus on the hula-hoop, love. Jemma thought to her.

Skye took a deep breath and focused on the hula-hoop, staring at it until she didn't feel a glimmer of thought about anything else...made that much harder by Jemma in such close proximity. It was there that she kept getting stuck. She didn't know where to go from there.

"Nothing, I've got nothing. Not even a tremble." Skye complained, exhaling a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"You usually cause earthquakes when you're emotional. Get angry and let it fill you up, then focus on the hoop." Jemma suggested. She honestly had no clue as to whether or not her plan would work.

Skye thought about these people who wanted to hurt Jemma and extended her mind out to the children's toy. As she did though, her mind came across five unfamiliar consciences and dove into them, immediately getting the sense that these were the people coming after Jemma.

"Five baddies are headed our way, armed, dangerous, and after me instead of you. Some of my old man's friends." Skye said with an eyeroll, then sent the message telepathically to all of her friends.

Skye, is that you? Coulson's voice echoed into her mind, awed and a little bit scared.

Yeah, it's me AC. she responded Now, excuse me while I kick bad guy ass. She added before leaving his mind and dragging Jemma into the safe house behind her to change into field gear, not noticing the hula-hoop trembling solitarily behind her.

"You're going to ask me to stay inside, aren't you?" Jemma asked, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.

"They don't call you a genius for nothing do they?" Skye asked, snarkily and Jemma didn't allow herself to get offended, she knew that lashing out was Skye's way of protecting herself, in case of a fight, as twisted as that could be sometimes.

"I just want to be there for you. At least let me watch through you." Jemma said, trying hard not to let on how scared she was for Skye's safety.

"Like how I was in your mind a couple of days ago? When we first had the mind-meld sex? That kind of into my mind?" Skye asked, and Jemma could hear the nerves in her voice.

"Exactly like that. And I want to watch the battle through your eyes. Deal?" Jemma asked, and stuck out her hand.

"Deal." Skye agreed, knowing that she would give up probably anything for a guarantee of Jemma's safety. "The others are here. I'll send Fitz in to keep you company. Lord knows that you've missed each other enough." Skye grabbed Jemma's wrist and waist and pulled the smaller scientist close and kissed her hard.

"I love you, stay safe." Jemma whispered when Skye broke away.

"I love you, too." Skye answered and they left the room quietly holding hands to e the others.

"Telepathy. That's epic." Fitz said, his arms wrapped around Jemma tightly even though he was looking at Skye.

Please don't choke my girlfriend to death, Fitz. Skye thought to him in an amused tone. You can answer back telepathically if you wish. she added.

So. Freaking. Cool. Fitz thought.

She hugged Coulson, Trip, and Fitz once he had let go of Jemma and shook Mack, Bobbi, and Lance's hand.

"How well can you control your powers at this point, Quake?" May asked, surprised to suddenly find Skye's arms around her neck, hugging her and squeezing her tightly.

"Halfway decent. I can't get the hula-hoop to move without making everything get wobbly, but with the help of my bracelet, I've got the telepathy under control." she said without letting go of May. The older agent patted Skye's back half-heartedly and said,

"Let go of me before I draw my weapon."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I hate to break up the family reunion, but they've made the clearing. Are you all ready?" Bruce Banner asked from the doorway."Is that..." Fitz and Mack started.

"Yes, yes it is." Simmons replied proudly.

"He helped me design the suppression cuff that Skye is wearing."

"Leopold Fitz! I'm a big fan." Banner called and strode into the house, grabbing one of Fitz's smaller hands in between two of his big ones and shaking it heartily.

I think he might pass out. Skye thought to Jemma.

I concur. she replied.

I have to go now. I love you more than I ever thought possible. Skye kissed Jemma's forehead and hugged her tightly, simultaneously melding their minds. She barely noticed that Skye had left when she sat beside of Fitz on the bed she'd shared with Skye for the past two weeks.

"Jemma, your eyes are all glazed over, are you talking to Skye?" Fitz asked.

"I don't have to talk to her. She's melded our minds so that I can see everything she sees, feel everything she feels, and think everything that she thinks. It has something to do with the strength of the emotional bond, I believe. Downside is I feel her pain. You wouldn't believe how much emotional pain she goes through each time she takes a life." Jemma rambled. Fitz just nodded, and waited until she wanted to say more.

"Skye is using her abilities to predict her enemies next move and react first, the way Banner taught her. She's stunning. Wait, she's unconscious...I'm being sucked into a memory..." Jemma trailed off and Fitz jumped to the window to look out and make sure that Skye was still alive and that the mental connection wouldn't kill them both.

Skye was a teenage girl again and her foster father was approaching her with a knife. She knew what was about to happen, it definitely wasn't the first time, the only new addition was the knife. She was compartmentalizing her mind as quickly as possible, not wanting to actually experience what was about to happen. Just as he was pushing her over, her mind blanked just the way that she needed it to. An hour later she came to, only to find herself covered in blood with a knife in her hand and her her arm bleeding from a deep wound, the foster father lay on the ground, his body covered in stab wounds. All seventeen year old Skye knew to do was to call Miles and hope that he knew a way out of the situation.

"Jemma, wake up sweetheart, everything's okay, you're okay." Jemma blinked her eyes open to Skye shaking her shoulder gently.

"Skye? You're okay? I felt you get..." Jemma immediately stated her interrogation despite her intense headache. She was interrupted by Skye hopping onto the bed and kissing her to make her shut up.

"Jem, I took a pretty hard hit to the head, but I'm okay. Do you want to talk about what you saw?" Skye asked and Jemma noticed that they were back on the Bus in Skye's pod room.

"Not even a little. It'll just make me angry. That guy... I can't... I would love to...." Jemma's face contoured into the sort of rage that Skye had never seen before.

"I mean the part where I killed him, Jemma." Skye corrected blankly.

"Self-defense. You are still the same Skye that I know and love and that memory, your experience changes nothing." Jemma lays out the blanket statement, looking at Skye like she is the single most idiotic person to have ever lived. Skye flopped down onto the bed and wrapped herself around Jemma, dissolving into a pool of affection. She clutched her girlfriend close and only moved to kiss her cheek, neck, shoulder or lips softly every now and then. She couldn't ever imagine moving from that position ever again.


End file.
